The Six Paths Reincarnation Eye Opens!

According to the theories Yu Xiaogang taught in class, there is a strict upper-limit formula for the age of spirit rings a spirit master can absorb.

A level 50 Spirit Sect can only absorb a spirit ring of approximately 12,000 years at most.

Exceeding this limit, even if one were to force the absorption, would result in a backlash from the spirit ring's energy; at best, one would suffer from cultivation deviation, and at worst, their body would explode and die.

However, Qin Chuan is different from ordinary spirit masters; he possesses the Heavenly Dao Power of the Reincarnation Origin within his body.

Although he has yet to fully master it, it is more than enough to suppress the mental will of spirit beasts and assist in absorbing the violent energy of a spirit ring.

Qin Chuan made a silent estimation.

The Heavenly Dao Power can increase his absorption limit to about 1.5 times its original capacity.

In other words, he can absorb a spirit ring of up to about 30,000 years.

Of course, to be safe, it is best to keep it under 28,000 years.

"Anything under 20,000 years is out of the question." Qin Chuan took a step forward, continuing to venture deep into the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest.

With every stride, his figure would vanish from where he stood, only to reappear a hundred meters away in the next second.

The sound of his toes touching the ground was as light as leaves falling on water, almost completely inaudible.

The further he went, the dimmer the light became in the forest.

The canopy overhead wove together into an impenetrable green net, blocking out most of the sunlight.

The temperature in the air also dropped, becoming cold and damp; one could see a thin layer of white mist drifting from his mouth with every breath.

The vegetation on the ground had changed.

The low shrubs were gone, replaced by clusters of waist-high ferns with broad, thick leaves covered in a layer of water droplets.

Occasionally, unknown insects would crawl out from beneath the leaves, making rustling sounds.

The level of the surrounding spirit beasts had also clearly increased.

Scanning with his Reincarnation Eye, the lowest ones were at least 10,000 years old.

He could spot one over 20,000 years old every few kilometers.

These high-age spirit beasts possess an extremely strong sense of territory, with each one occupying a vast area and maintaining a delicate distance from one another.

Qin Chuan traveled through this area for about half an hour.

His Reincarnation Eye scanned the surroundings again and again, yet Qin Chuan never stopped his pace.

A 20,000-year-old Green Scale Flood Dragon—he glanced at it and passed it by.

A 21,000-year-old Shadow Leopard—too small, the spirit ring quality wasn't top-tier.

A 23,000-year-old Rock Snake—the attributes were wrong and didn't match the Zhu Xian Sword.

What Qin Chuan was looking for was a spirit beast that perfectly matched a sword-type martial soul: the Sword-Toothed Tiger!

The core ability of this type of spirit beast lies in the word "sword intent."

Their fangs contain a natural sharpness; for a spirit master with a sword-type martial soul, absorbing the spirit ring of a Sword-Toothed Tiger can greatly enhance their perception of sword intent while simultaneously increasing the attack power of their weapon.

During those three years in the Underground Temple, Qin Chuan had thought over and over again about what his first attack-type spirit ring should be.

In the end, he settled on the Sword-Toothed Tiger species.

But for ordinary Sword-Toothed Tigers, there are very few with a high enough age.

Whether a Sword-Toothed Tiger over 20,000 years old could even be found in the Star Dou Great Forest was a question in itself.

Unless, it was a mutated species.

Qin Chuan continued deeper, the purple patterns of his Reincarnation Eye rotating continuously.

After walking for another twenty minutes or so, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Six kilometers ahead, he saw it.

In a forest clearing shaded by a massive canopy, a huge beast was lying on its side on the grass.

Its body was a full six meters long, with thick limbs and muscle contours clearly visible through its fur.

Its entire body was covered in a layer of short, golden fur, and the patterns on its coat were completely different from those of an ordinary Sword-Toothed Tiger.

An ordinary Sword-Toothed Tiger's fur is gray and white, but this one had complex dark markings covering its golden undercoat, as if someone had branded patterns onto its body with a hot iron.

These golden patterns shimmered slightly in the light, extending along the lines of its muscles from the top of its head all the way to the tip of its tail.

A Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger, a rare mutated species.

At this moment, it was napping with its eyes closed, its four legs curled beneath its body, its tail resting on its hind legs and occasionally flicking to drive away insects landing on its fur.

Beside it lay the carcass of a small dragon-type spirit beast that had been more than half-eaten.

The hindquarters of the dragon-type spirit beast had been completely devoured, leaving only the front half of the skeleton and some unpicked muscle; the blood had already dried into a dark brown.

[Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger, 25,000 years of cultivation. And it's a rare mutated species!]

A flash of excitement crossed Qin Chuan's eyes.

A standard Sword-Toothed Tiger martial soul is already a top-tier assault-type beast martial soul.

This mutated Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger was the king among tigers, naturally imbued with a trace of Geng Metal energy, making it the dream soul ring for any soul master with a sword-type martial soul.

It could not only significantly enhance a soul master's perception of sword intent but also imbue their weapon with an indestructible armor-piercing attribute.

This is the one!

Qin Chuan hesitated no longer. He dropped vertically from the hundred-meter-tall treetop without stirring a whisper of wind, landing lightly about forty meters away from the Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger.

Although he now possessed two martial souls, the soul skills of his Illusion Bell lacked offensive capabilities; his only means of attack was the Zhu Xian Sword, which had just awakened and had yet to be imbued with any soul rings.

To face a twenty-five-thousand-year-old mutated soul beast with a martial soul that lacked soul skills sounded like a fantasy.

However, Qin Chuan's greatest reliance was the flight ability granted by his Six Paths Reincarnation Eye, along with its seemingly unsolvable repulsive and attractive forces.

If I wear it down slowly, I can eventually kill it.

With a shift in his thoughts, Qin Chuan extended his right hand forward.

A faint sword hum resonated through the air, and the ancient, desolate Zhu Xian Sword appeared out of thin air in his palm.

The moment he landed, that faint yet aggressive aura belonging to a human finally disturbed the dozing Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger.

It lazily lifted its head, which was larger than a water bucket. A flicker of annoyance at being disturbed flashed through its golden pupils, followed by the sight of the human standing not far away, as tiny as an ant.

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger even thought its eyes were playing tricks on it; it raised a paw the size of a millstone and scratched its cheek.

That was right, there was only one person.

Furthermore, judging by its aura, that soul power fluctuation was at most that of a Soul King.

A Soul King, charging into my territory all by himself? Is he starving to death and coming here to serve himself up as a meal?

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger's gaze shifted instantly from lazy to playful.

It stood up slowly from the ground and stretched its limbs, its entire skeleton emitting a series of "crackling" pops.

With just a simple standing motion, the terrifying pressure belonging to the king of the forest swept toward Qin Chuan like a tsunami.

"Roar!" A deafening roar nearly tore up the surrounding turf.

The Golden-Patterned Sword-Toothed Tiger had no intention of testing its opponent; the muscles in its four limbs exerted force, and its massive body transformed into a golden blur, bringing with it a foul wind as it lunged at Qin Chuan like lightning.

Those two massive sword-teeth were its most lethal weapons, capable of piercing through the defenses of any Soul King!

Qin Chuan stood his ground, not even lifting an eyelid in the face of this thunderous strike.

He simply raised his left hand, slowly.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Hum!